High School Insider: Maryland, Pennsylvania Updates

The high school season is now in full swing in the Mid-Atlantic, with most programs beginning play one to two weeks ago. Today, we're going to try and keep you up to date on the happenings in Maryland and Pennsylvania, offering some links, news, and analysis. Next week, we'll get into covering the D.C. area. By now, I hope you've been able to sift through a copy of the April Issue of Inside Lacrosse Magazine containing our lengthy High School Preview and preseason rankings.

Maryland

Plenty of intriguing results going on in a super-competitive and often unpredictable MIAA, as well as strong starts from a handful of public school squads. Calvert Hall looks to be the front runner, and beyond that, No. 11 Boys' Latin, No. 12 St. Paul's, No. 14 McDonogh and No. 16 St. Mary's all appear even although I have yet to see the latter team play.

I must admit, I was doubting Calvert Hall a little bit because of their youth and lack of leadership - a lot of people have come out and said 2012 is their year to win it all, not yet. So far, they've proven me wrong. They haven't been absolutely phenomenal but Ryan Brown (Johns Hopkins) and the Hall have some nice wins, most recently a 5-4 confidence boosting win at #12 St. Paul's, which is written up here. The Cardinals don't have the non-conference schedule that their MIAA counterparts do, but they're getting the job done. You can watch a complete game tape with play-by-play from ESPN3.com's Booker Corrigan and commentary by myself (dabbling in color this season), over on Kudda.com. Here is a link - they're leading the way with video this year and you'll see a few more broadcasts from Kudda linked in this piece.

Archrivals #11 Boys' Latin and #12 St. Paul's also look good so far, despite having one and two blemishes on their resume - all three from top ten teams. BL blew out their first three non-league opponents, struggled against a below-average Spalding team and most recently dropped a 11-9 decision at a neutral site against #5 Conestoga (PA). Kudda also has that covered there - I was lucky to be in attendance. The Lakers are clearly finding their mojo on both ends of the field, and were bitten by the turnover bug. All the credit in the world goes to an excellent 'Stoga squad. Boys' Latin, boosted by an athletic midfield and heralded Hopkins-bound Wells Stanwick at attack, will be fine with some time.

St. Paul's looks strong as well but have been on the losing end of two one-goal losses, one to top-ranked Haverford and the second to Calvert Hall. With a fantastic senior class departed, the defending champs are still working some things out. The Crusaders' are also showcased twice on Kudda, against Haverford (Pa.) and IAC power Georgetown Prep.

The picture will become a bit clearer on Friday (for now, at least), as each team will look to rebound from a loss. The Lakers will head to Annapolis to face off with St. Mary's, while St. Paul's will play host to an impressive McDonogh squad.

Gotta be impressed with the McDonogh Eagles. Their defense is the strongest in the league and they're getting outstanding contributions from their senior leaders on offense, as well as getting some players who played sparingly last year to pitch in. Video of their March 19th contest against Haverford is linked on Kudda, while my man Geoff Shannon provided analysis here on IL.com. The Eagles definitely pose a major threat to St. Paul's on Friday afternoon in Brooklandville, a contest which will likely be another low-scoring affair.

How about the resurging St. Mary's Saints turning some heads? Under new head coach Rob Chomo, the Saints posted three notable wins over a trio of legitimate D.C. programs in Gonzaga, DeMatha and Landon to begin the season. Next, they bested host Gilman by a score of 11-7, written up on VSN here. MIAA fans will soon know if the boys from Annapolis are the real deal, as they host both Boys' Latin and St. Paul's in the next week.

Loved this quote from Chomo in the article, summing up the MIAA: "The good thing about this league is that you can't over celebrate a win and you can't dwell on a loss, because you have another tough team coming at you right away."

Gilman and Loyola haven't had great success so far but will fight for one of the six playoff spots. Gilman is comprised largely of seniors as well as some fresh faces settling into new roles - with back-to-back losses to Georgetown Prep and St. Mary's, they were knocked out of the UA/IL Power Rankings this week. Loyola went 0-3 against Philadelphia competition. They'll be fun to watch because no matter how inexperienced his team may be, Jack Crawford and his staff always turn heads because of the health of the program and superb coaching. Spalding, Severn and Mt. St. Joe can be formidable at times - we'll profile them more as the season goes on.

Now onto the publics, who struggle to share the spotlight with the illustrious MIAA but are quite strong in their own right. Defending state champion Hereford will miss a senior class led by Under Armour All-American Rustin Bryant (Maryland), but they're back with a heckuva squad looking to repeat. Lots of experiences over there in the Hereford zone - they're no doubt the favorite. The Bulls just barely dispatched a scrappy and talented Fallston squad, but have some solid wins over the rest of their slate thus far. Also look out for Queen Anne's, Severna Park and South River, among others.

Pennsylvania

First thing. Want to send our condolences to the Philly Lacrosse community following the passing of lacrosse 'ambassador' Dan Carr at the age of 51 following a long battle with brain cancer. PhillyLacrosse has the story. Again, condolences to friends and family.

Wow. These Philly teams can really bring it this year, especially against MIAA competition. If I'm not mistaken, the programs hold a monstrous advantage over their 'friends' from Baltimore in interstate play this far. We'll break down a few of the top teams so far:

Despite a daunting schedule, top-ranked Haverford has yet to be knocked off their high horse. They battled three top MIAA schools and pulled out the 'W' over Loyola-Blakefield, McDonogh and St. Paul's. Very impressed with Haverford thus far and they're the undisputed #1. Will they go undefeated? Highly unlikely - it's simply too hard with that schedule. I'm circling April 16th and April 30th for the Fords - at home vs. Darien and at a neutral site for Conestoga. The Fords have plenty of depth, plenty of firepower and they're not afraid to play anybody.

Up next at #5 would be Brian Samson's Pioneers on Conestoga. They had an aforementioned victory on Tuesday night over the MIAA's Boys' Latin, a win that was huge for the program's image nationally. This team is certainly for real, I came away more than impressed. The defense did a great job pressuring BL's well oiled machine of an offense, and Robbie Zonino, the sophomore goalie, gobbled up everything in sight as he finished with 18 saves. Lancaster area sports writer Matt Blymier contributed this piece to Inside Lacrosse on the contest Tuesday night at Franklin & Marshall, check the comments as well - pretty intriguing.

With big expectations put on them especially after the mid-year transfer of de facto #1 sophomore Matt Rambo from Abington, preseason La Salle have sputtered thus far, going 0-2. Read about the Explorers' big upset losses to Episcopal Academy and Malvern Prep, respectively, here and here. Bill Leahy's boys seem to be having some trouble defensively, as they shouldn't have too much of an issue gelling on offense and putting the ball in the back in the net going forward. They have the chance to bounce back on Friday at #6 Calvert Hall, Leahy's alma mater and the top team in the MIAA.

Episcopal Academy's big win over La Salle doesn't seem to be a fluke, as the Churchmen jump into the rankings (and throw out LS) this week at No. 22 in the nation. Like Haverford, they play in the Inter-Ac and aren't allowed to compete for the PIAA state title. Doesn't mean they can't make noise. Goalie Tyler Morrell and company have a tough slate ahead of them - St. Joe's Prep, Brunswick School (Conn.) and Malvern Prep. But, those teams from the City of Brotherly Love load up their schedule and play a ton of games, so it will be interesting to see how the Churchmen's season turns out.